to happen, so that by these things men might show the honor concerning him, how, because they sacrifice men, are the Greeks shown to be more impious than them? Which they say was done by the ancients for the sake of greater honor, that the god believed in among them might be deemed worthy of greater honor, honoring him with the sacrifice of rational beings; for by as much as the rational is more honorable than the irrational, by so much also is the sacrifice of the former more august than that of the latter. And this is shown more clearly from the story of Jephthah, who, having offered his own daughter as a sacrifice, is mentioned by the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the list of the pious. Response. One must not consider the sacrifice offered to God according to the law, that it is the blood of irrational animals, but how God accepted it when it was offered to him. For if he accepted the offered blood of irrational animals as if the one offering it had offered his own soul, it is clear that the sacrifice received the first rank from the good pleasure of the one who so accepted it, and God the first honor. But that the one who offered the blood of irrational animals thus offered it to God as his own soul, the divine scripture testifies, saying: Instead of the soul, it says, of those offering, the blood of their sacrifices is offered in the holy of holies. Therefore, the rank of the sacrifice and the honor of God must be judged not from the nature of what is offered but from the disposition of the one who accepts it, who, because he spared the human race, did not wish to consume men offered in daily sacrifice and destroy the race, but has given to men to increase and to endure, and to their sacrifices the highest rank. But the gods worshiped among the Greeks, being wicked and misanthropic demons, rejoiced in sacrifices that diminish and destroy the human race; which is the greatest proof of the bestial inhumanity of the Greek gods, and of the godlessness of the Greeks, who by the destruction of the human race try to honor their gods more greatly, as they say, or rather, most shamefully. And the reason for which Jephthah was numbered in the list of the pious is this. Jephthah asked for victory against the enemies; and for this victory he made a thanksgiving vow indefinitely, to offer as a sacrifice whatever came out of his house to meet him as he returned victorious from the war. But the devil, receiving the indefiniteness of the vow, contrived from it to set a trap of transgression for Jephthah, and he moves his daughter, being an only child, to come out of the house with a lyre to meet him, so that if Jephthah spared his daughter, he would be forced to break his vow. But nevertheless, though the devil set a trap, he did not get his prey, since Jephthah considered the fulfillment more important than the life of his daughter

γίνεσθαι, ὥστε ταύταις τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τιμὴν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, πῶς διὰ τὸ θύειν ἀνθρώπους Ἕλληνες δείκνυν ται αὐτῶν ἀσεβέστεροι; Ὅπερ φάσκουσιν ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν γεγονέναι χάριν τοῦ πλείονος τιμῆς τὸν παρ' αὐτοῖς νομιζό μενον θεὸν μείζονα ἀξιοῦσθαι, τιμώντων αὐτὸν τῇ τῶν λογι κῶν θυσίᾳ· ὅσῳ γὰρ τοῦ ἀλόγου τὸ λογικὸν τιμιώτερον, το σούτῳ καὶ ἡ τούτου θυσία σεμνοτέρα ἐκείνης. Καὶ τοῦτο δείκνυται ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἰεφθάε σαφέστερον, ὅς, τὴν ἰδίαν θυγατέρα προσκομίσας θυσίαν, ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐπι στολῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἐν τῷ καταλόγῳ τῶν εὐσεβῶν μνη μονεύεται. Ἀπόκρισις. Oὐ χρὴ σκοπεῖν τὴν κατὰ τὸν νόμον θεῷ προσφερομέ νην θυσίαν, ὅτι τῶν ἀλόγων ἐστὶν αἵματα, ἀλλὰ τὸ πῶς προσ εδέξατο ταύτην ὁ θεὸς προσαγομένην αὐτῷ. Eἰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ αἷμα τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων τὸ προσφερόμενον οὕτως προσεδέξατο ὡς εἰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν προσήνεγκεν ὁ τοῦτο προσφέρων, δῆλον ὅτι ἡ μὲν θυσία τὴν πρώτην τάξιν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τῆς εὐδοκίας τοῦ ταύτην οὕτως προσδεξαμένου καὶ ὁ θεὸς τὴν πρώ την τιμήν. Ὅτι δὲ ὡς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν οὕτως προσέφερε τῷ θεῷ ὁ τὸ αἷμα τῶν ἀλόγων προσενέγκας, μαρτυρεῖ ἡ θεία γραφὴ λέγουσα· Ἀντὶ τῆς ψυχῆς, φησί, τῶν προσφερόντων τὸ αἷμα τῶν θυσιῶν αὐτῶν προσφέρεται εἰς τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων. Μὴ οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ προσαγομένου ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς δια θέσεως τοῦ προσδεχομένου κριτέον τῆς θυσίας τὴν τάξιν καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν τιμήν, τοῦ διὰ τὸ φείδεσθαι τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀν θρώπων μὴ βουληθέντος ἀναλῶσαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς θυσίαν καθ' ἡμέραν προσαγομένους καὶ ἀφανίσαι τὸ γένος, ἀλλὰ δε δωκότος τοῖς μὲν ἀνθρώποις τὸ αὐξάνεσθαί τε καὶ τὸ διαμέ νειν, ταῖς δὲ θυσίαις αὐτῶν τὴν μεγίστην τάξιν. Oἱ δὲ παρ' Ἕλλησι θρησκευόμενοι θεοί, ἅτε δαίμονες ὄντες πονηροί τε καὶ μισάνθρωποι, θυσίαις ἔχαιρον μειωτικαῖς τε καὶ ἀφανι στικαῖς τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ὅπερ ἐστὶ δεῖγμα μέγιστον τῆς μὲν τῶν ἑλληνικῶν θεῶν θηριώδους ἀπανθρωπίας, τῆς δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀθεότητος, τῷ ἀφανισμῷ τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώ πων μειζόνως, ὥς φασι, μᾶλλον δὲ αἰσχίστως πειρωμένων τιμᾶν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν θεούς. Aἰτία δέ, δι' ἣν ὁ Ἰεφθάε ἐν τῷ καταλόγῳ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἠριθμήθη, ἔστιν αὕτη. Ἠιτήσατο ὁ Ἰεφθάε νίκην κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν· ὑπὲρ δὲ ταύτης τῆς νίκης εὐ χαριστικὴν εὐχὴν ἀορίστως ηὔξατο, τὸ προσαγαγεῖν εἰς θυ σίαν τὸ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ ἐξερχόμενον εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτῷ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου τροπαιούχῳ ἐπανερχομένῳ. ∆εξάμενος δὲ ὁ διά βολος τὸ ἀόριστον τῆς εὐχῆς ἐμηχανᾶτο ἐξ αὐτοῦ θεῖναι τῷ Ἰεφθάε παγίδα παραβάσεως, καὶ κινεῖ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ, μονογενῆ οὖσαν, μετὰ κιθάρας ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου εἰς συν άντησιν αὐτῷ, ἵνα φεισαμένου τοῦ Ἰεφθάε τῆς θυγατρὸς ἀναγ κασθῇ ποιήσασθαι τῆς εὐχῆς τὴν ἀθέτησιν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως πα γίδα θεὶς ὁ διάβολος τοῦ θηράματος οὐκ ἔτυχε, προτιμοτέραν ἡγησαμένου τοῦ Ἰεφθάε τῆς ζωῆς τῆς θυγατρὸς τὴν ἀπόδοσιν